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The Goldfinch – Donna Tartt

Some books take their own good time to get into your headspace and once it happens, you just cannot stop yourself from turning their pages and finish reading them. Same thing happened with The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt that has earned rave reviews worldwide and had me curious about this book. Arguably one of my best reads of 2014 till now, The Goldfinch is a brilliant read with memorable characters that will be etched on your mind. Let me tell you that by no means this book is an easy read. It may irritate you, frustrate you and you will be compelled to put it down a lot of times, but if you manage to pass through all these, this book will stay with you for a very long period of time.

The Goldfinch is mostly about American culture and lifestyle. It is a fantastic journey that connects families living in Manhattan’s richly wooded buildings to the hollow homes of Las Vegas. Thirteen year old Theo escapes a terrorist attack at the Metropolitan Museum of Art that kills his mother, he takes with him a small, famous painting called The Goldfinch. The painting stays with him all throughout his life and as grows up, his fascination and love towards art and its restoration and his connection with The Goldfinch thrusts him into a space that he could not fathom in the beginning. It was the underbelly of the art world. The details regarding art, music, antiques, grieving, drug abuse, love, relationships, social services and more are incredible to say the least and make the book what it is.

It took me more than a month to finish this book. Close to 780 pages, this book was definitely not an easy read for me. Rich descriptions, dramatic and the author creates characters and situations that feel incredibly real as you’re sailing through the book. You will be able to paint the locations and characters in your mind through Tartt’s descriptions and that is what describes the power in her writing. The last couple of chapters in the book will take you by surprise and you won’t be able to stop yourself clap for Donna Tartt’s intelligence and ability as an author. It took her 10 years to write this book and when you will read it, you will understand why.

A mystery of art theft with a surprise twist in the end, set up in the land of darkly secretive art dealers and darkly secretive women, The Goldfinch is a compelling read interlaced with human relationships, love, longing and much more. It deserves to be read but one has to be a bit stubborn to not to put the book down in the midway.